1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system storage devices, and more particularly to a system and method for information handling system storage device power consumption.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems typically include non-volatile storage devices that store information, such as an operating system, applications and user data. One common non-volatile storage device is a hard disk drive (HDD), which spins a magnetic disk relative to a head that reads and writes information at the disk. Another type of non-volatile storage device is a solid state drive (SSD). Solid state drives differ from hard disk drives by using non-volatile flash memory to store information rather than a spinning magnetic disk. Because solid state drives do not have moving mechanical parts, they tend to have quicker start-up and reduced power consumption relative to hard disk drives. The reduced power consumption of solid state drives make them an attractive alternative for portable information handling systems. Portable information handling systems sometimes operate using an internal power source, such as a rechargeable battery. Reduced power consumption by a solid state drive helps to increase the amount of time that the information handling system will run on a battery charge.
Information handling systems also typically include a variety of power saving techniques that help reduce overall power consumption and thus increase battery charge life of a portable information handling system. For example, a power manager executing as firmware within a chipset, such as a BIOS, will instruct subsystems of an information handling system to implement a low power state when the subsystem is inactive. A low power transition timer typically monitors the subsystem for activity and initiates a transition to a low power state after a set amount of time without subsystem activity. Power management engineers attempt to set the timer so that power consumption and system performance have an effective balance. For example, power down of a hard disk drive might include power down of the magnetic disk so that it does not spin. Power up of the hard disk drive has a recovery time that includes time needed to spin up the magnetic disk. Power down of the magnetic disk after too short of an inactivity period will decrease system performance due to excessive recovery times associated with magnetic disk spin-up. Solid state drives generally have a more rapid recovery than hard disk drives since solid state drives do not have mechanically moving parts that have to power up before the solid state drive can read or write information. Both hard disk drives and solid state drives when operating within an information handling system generally do not know when the host information handling system transitions to an idle state and thus enter a reduced power state if the host I/O activity does not exist for an inactivity time period. Selecting an appropriate inactivity time period presents a difficulty in that too short of an inactivity time will impact performance while too long of an inactivity time before transition to a reduced power state will result in unnecessary power consumption.